Resident Composer: Marielle Groven
Montreal-based composer Marielle Groven‘s music has been performed by ensembles including Ensemble Surplus (Freiburg), Ensemble Mosaik (Berlin), the Bozzini Quartet, Le Nouvel ensemble moderne, ECM+, The Moscow Ensemble, Ensemble Linea (Strasbourg), and Les Cris de Paris, at festivals including Klangwerkstatt, The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Voix Nouvelles, Northern Breeze, and Novelum. She has studied with several important composers including Pierluigi Billone, Brian Ferneyhough, Liza Lim, Chaya Czernowin, Steven Takasugi, and Brian Cherney. Her work draws on fragile and raw, often emotionally charged sounds, with a particular focus on points of contact between the human and the instrumental.
https://mariellegroven.wordpress.com/
Resident Ensemble: AKA Ensemble
Marilène Provencher-Leduc, flutes
Tommy Davis, saxophone
Interested in exploring the versatility of her instrument, Marilène Provencher-Leduc strives to advance her contemporary music practice, exploring klezmer music, jazz and improvisation. She will complete her Doctorate at the University of Montréal in Spring 2016 under the direction of Lise Daoust with a focus on analysis and interpretation of works by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Marilène places equal importance on collaboration with young composers and performers. In 2015, with pianist Mélanie Cullin, she formed the Myriad Collective, an ensemble devoted to multidisciplinary experiences and the development of a common vocabulary for musical, gestural, graphic and literary improvisation. In 2014 she co-founded Ensemble AKA with Tommy Davis. The ensemble is dedicated to contemporary repertoire, premieres and the exploration of perceptual borders and styles among written and improvised music.
Tommy Davis plays regularly in collaboration with other musicians, composers and dancers. In his projects, he integrates electronics, movements, videos and improvisation. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has played in concerts in the US, Canada, France and the United Kingdom - the World Saxophone Congress, the Society of Composers Inc. National Conference, the United States Navy Band Internation Saxophone Symposium and the Fête de la Cité (Paris). He is an ardent proponent of contemporary music and he has premiered works by professional Canadian, French and American composers. He is a founding and active member of the Proteus Saxophone Quartet and Duo d’Entre Deux, who are active performing, collaborating and commissioning new works in North America and Europe. Having completed his Masters degree from the Université de Montréal (Jean-François Guay) in 2015, he also holds diplomas from the Conservatoire de Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris (Jean-Michel Goury) and a Bachelors degree with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan (Dr. Glen Gillis).
https://soundcloud.com/ensemble-aka.
Resident Sound Artist: James O’Callaghan
James O’Callaghan is a composer and sound artist based in Montréal praised for his “mastery of materials and musical form” (Electromania, Radio France) and “highly refined sense of colour.” (Vancouver Sun) His music intersects acoustic and electroacoustic media, employing field recordings, amplified found objects, computer-assisted transcription of environmental sounds, and unique performance conditions. His work spans chamber, orchestral, live electronic and acousmatic idioms, audio installations, and site-specific performances.
http://jamesocallaghan.tumblr.com
Resident Improvisers: Aaron Lumley
Aaron Lumley (1981, North Bay, Canada) is an experimental double bassist living in Montreal. A student of Wilbert de Joode and John Eckhardt, Lumley is an explorer of the dense sonic wilderness of the acoustic string bass. In the decade since taking up the bass at age 25, Lumley has become an active member of the international improvised music circuit. He has made music with an array of artists including Jasper Stadhouders, Hamid Drake, Frank Rosaly, Tobias Delius, Ab Baars and Arto Lindsay.